TIRANA -- European Union Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi on February 29 told a summit of Western Balkan leaders in Tirana that the bloc's six billion euro ($6.5 billion) development plan for the region could double their countries' economic output over the next decade if timely reforms are implemented.
The plan envisaged by the EU would cover the next three years and is meant to speed up both the region's economic growth and its integration with the EU norms and legislation that would eventually bring membership in the bloc.
The funds' disbursal is conditioned by the speed of the reform process in the six countries that make up the Western Balkans and which are at different stages on their road toward membership.
"We have full confidence in all the Western Balkans countries that they will be able to benefit from this plan, which has the potential to contribute to the doubling of the economies of the region in the next 10 years," Varhelyi said at the start of the summit attended by the leaders of Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.
The host of the summit, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, welcomed the plan, which was approved by the European Commission in November.
“The new opportunity of this out-of-the box plan represents not only the EU's recognition of our decade-long efforts to build a common future against the savage winds of the past, but also challenges us to demonstrate our readiness for a shared European destiny,” Rama said in his opening remarks.
The new plan for economic growth in the countries of the Western Balkans, which was approved by the European Commission on November 8, 2023, is based on four pillars.
The first pillar deals with the strengthening of the region's integration in the EU single market, while the second pillar refers to the deeper integration of the six countries' economies through a common regional market.
The third pillar envisages the acceleration of fundamental reforms, including the strengthening of the rule of law, which would attract foreign direct investment and improve regional stability.
The fourth pillar refers to an increase in financial aid to support reforms that actually envisages the disbursement of the 6 billion euros to the six countries.
Serbia and Montenegro launched membership negotiations a few years ago, followed by Albania and Macedonia in 2022, while Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo have only begun the first step of the integration process.
Another country from the region, Croatia, was the last to become an EU member in 2013.